


this was a bad idea (and i blame you)

by BookOfFairyTales



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, M/M, adrien and marinette have kids, also there are many swears, and alya and nino dated but broke up but they got a son named marco, and marco is red beetle, but like emma is ladybug, hugo is chat noir, it's a thing, oh and they're like 17-18 in this, you meet two of them - hugo and emma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-22 07:58:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6071320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookOfFairyTales/pseuds/BookOfFairyTales
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien Agreste has an extremely busy life - not only is he a part time student, but he's also a part time model (thanks, dad) and part time superhero (thanks, Plagg). Needless to say, he's much too busy to deal with a time traveling vigilante daughter who doesn’t understand how to keep herself out of danger.</p><p>Cue Emeline Agreste.</p><p>On the other side of the superhero duo is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who isn't quite sure how to deal with two teenage boys claiming to be the new Chat Noir and Red Beetle - not to mention that the new Chat is her son and the new Beetle is Alya's son. No where in her superhero contract with Tikki does it say that she has to share her room with two boys, especially when neither one is cooperating, and who the fuck left an eclaire on her design book?</p><p>Cue Hugo Agreste and Marco Tureau.</p><p>Someone better figure this out before Chat and Ladybug kill their kids.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. congratulations, it's a child

**Author's Note:**

> hello, it is a, a smol cinnamon roll writer with a dream about a bug and a cat getting together and having snarky children...
> 
> this is that dream.
> 
> (miraculous ladybug belongs to people who aren't me because i would just make adrien and marinette REVEAL THEMSELVES COME ON NOW)

“Please don’t freak out.”

Adrien Agreste stumbles backwards, latching onto his dresser in order to stop himself from falling onto the ground. He presses his other hand to his chest, crushing the photo between his fingers. “I’m-I’m not freaking out. You’re freaking out. I’m completely calm. Yeah, that’s it. I’m calm. Plagg, aren’t I calm?”

“You’re not calm,” the little black kwami says, grabbing onto another piece of cheese.

“You’re an asshole, Plagg.”

The kwami grins. “And you’re a father. Congratulations, Adrien.”

Adrien, who had forgotten the existence of his daughter for about twelve blissful seconds, looks back up at the girl in question. She’s shifting from foot to foot, arms wrapped around her waist. She’s his age, maybe younger, about sixteen, with long blonde hair and familiar blue eyes. She gives him a shaky grin that’s reminiscent of his alter ego Chat and-

Oh, god, he is not ready for fatherhood.

He looks back down at the picture. The man, tall and blond with dimples and green eyes, is holding up a little girl with blonde pigtails and blue eyes. She’s wearing a dress decorated with black cats and ladybugs, and Adrien feels a vague smile spread across his lips before he reminds himself of the situation, looking up at the girl.

“How… I mean… how’d you even-?”

“Get here? Uh, well… I’m a little unclear on that too.” She laughs, but looks down, biting her lip and glancing back up at Adrien. “Okay, here’s the thing. We’ve got a new Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

Adrien blinks. He lets go of the dresser, places the photo on his desk, and clears his throat. “Um… naturally?” His voice cracks, and he winces, rubbing at his jaw. “I mean, I’ve got to be in my forties or fifties, right?” And _merde_ is that a weird thought. He’s eighteen. Totally not an adult. None of his shit is together. And yet…

“It’s nothing personal,” Plagg cuts in, an unnaturally soft look on his face. The girl runs her hands through her hair, glancing back and forth between Plagg and Adrien.

Adrien gets that sick feeling from Plagg’s look, the same one that he got after breaking down at his mother’s funeral. “Okay, okay, so. New Chat Noir and Ladybug. Continue.”

God. He’s turning into his father; demanding and unable to accept emotions.

“Right. Red Beetle and Chat Noir. They’re both guys, not like you and your Ladybug. And, uh, I guess they do the same thing? That apparently you do? Because apparently you’re Chat Noir?”

Oh, that explains her panicked glances at Plagg. She didn’t know. Well, at least they’re both freaking out. Like father, like daughter.

“Yes, I am that. That Chat. The Chat. The only Chat. Except not.”

Plagg snorts.

Adrien glares.

“Right. Well. I’m Ladybug.” The girl flushes red and mutters a swear.

“But… wait, can there be two people holding the same miraculous?”

Plagg hums, swallowing more cheese, the greedy little- “Nah, not really. Unless they’re twins. That’s happened once or twice before.”

“I didn’t mean the actual Ladybug,” the girl says. “Not like the miraculous holder one and everything. I’m just… a vigilante? Sort of. I don’t usually fight akumas, but this time… well, Red Beetle and Chat Noir weren’t in a position to fight.”

“You know who they are?” Plagg guesses, flying up to the girl’s face.

She nods. “Yeah. But I don’t know what happened. One minute, I’m fighting, the next I’m… well, I’m here. In this time, I mean, not your room. And I didn’t know where else to go but here! And that time, I meant here as in your room, not… well, okay, I’m just going to assume you understand.” She blinks rapidly, kicking at the floor, and taking loud, deep breaths.

There’s this urge to hold her, kiss her forehead, and assure her that everything will be fine. This is familiar, and it’s like he’s hearing the little lullaby his mother used to love to sing him whenever he got nervous. He shakes off the feeling, and gives the girl a wide, Chat Noir grin, telling her, “Don’t worry, little lady.” The girl blinks, mouth parting. “Me ‘n’ Plagg can figure this out. And I’m sure Ladybug would be glad to-”

“No!” The girl blurts out. “I just… shouldn’t we keep this within the family? I don’t think anyone else should know about me being from the future and everything.”

Adrien glances at Plagg.

“She’s not wrong,” Plagg says. “Plus she’ll be gone once the future miraculous holders defeat the akuma. I don’t see a problem with her staying here.”

Adrien throws his hands in the air, glaring at his kwami once again. “It’s not your house, Plagg! What if a maid sees her or Nathalie or, god forbid, _my father_ finds her!”

The girl sighs, turning to the window. “Look, I’ll be fine. I’ll figure something out. You don’t need to worry.”

“Hey, wait! Look, I didn’t mean it like that. I just… you can sleep here, okay? But during school… you’d need to be in school too. Like the library. Just some place that no one will find you.”

The girl brightens. “Really?”

“Well, I mean, you are my daughter, right? I have to take care of you.” He blushes when he realizes the important detail he’s ignored. “Oh, and uh… what’s your name?”

“Emeline Agreste,” the girl replies. “Most people call me Emma though.”

  


* * *

  


“Hugo,” the black haired boy says. “My name’s Hugo. But I probably shouldn’t give you my last name, y’know?”

Marinette Dupain-Cheng nods, looking over at Tikki. “Right, yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” She looks back down at the picture - a small one featuring middle-aged Marinette and Hugo in a suit - and then over at the tan boy settled on her bed. “And you are?”

“Marco Lahiffe,” he says.

“Wait, so you’re Nino’s son?” Marinette could’ve sworn that his features more strongly resembled Alya than Nino.

Marco’s version of Tikki sighs, fluttering up next to the boy’s ear. “I thought we agreed not to mention any last names.”

Future Plagg snorts. “It’s not like they know his mother.”

“It’s Alya,” Marco says.

“Marco!” Future Tikki scolds.

Hugo groans, throwing a pillow over at his friend.

An unusually Chat-like grin crosses Marinette’s face. “Really? Alya and Nino get married? That’s so cute; they’re perfect for each other!” The grin fades. “Wait, but they’re not together anymore…”

“Marinette,” her Tikki warns. “We can’t act on any of this information. We have to let them figure it out themselves.”

“And, plus, we’d really like to get home first,” Marco pipes up. “That should be a major priority. I mean, just imagine if we were stuck here forever. There’d be two versions of Tikki and Plagg.”

Right. Marco’s the new Ladyb- no, wait. He’s the new Red Beetle. Marinette shifts her feet, glancing at her Tikki.

“Whoa.”

“What?” Hugo asks, glancing over the room and raising an eyebrow at the picture of Adrien Agreste _(the love of Marinette’s life, no big deal or anything)_ on Marinette’s bedroom wall.

“Nah, nothing. She just looked like Emma for a second there.”

“What?” Marinette looks over at Hugo. “Who’s Emma?”

Hugo shakes his head.

Marco grins and says, “His little sister. Nice girl.”

“For fuck’s safe, Marco!” Hugo hisses.

“Marco,” future Tikki scolds once again. Marinette’s Tikki lands on her neck, sighing.

Future Plagg continues to ignore them all, choosing instead to munch on cheese - Marinette is fairly sure that it came from Hugo’s bag but she’s not a hundred percent certain.

“We need to figure out a way to get you home,” Marinette says loudly, clapping her hands together and tearing the boys away from their argument.

“Yes,” Hugo says, nodding. “How?”

Marinette’s mouth gapes open, and she looks over at her Tikki. Tikki frowns, avoiding eye contact, and her charge sighs. “Well, how… how did you even get here?”

“An akuma,” Marco answers, flipping through one of Marinette’s magazines. “Dude, your mom’s got a freaky crush on that Agreste guy.”

Marinette squeaks, cheeks flushing red. “I-I do not!”

“Marco, just… just go to sleep or something. You’re being extremely unhelpful.”

Marco sits up, throwing the magazine onto Marinette’s desk. “Okay, fine, it was an akuma version of this girl in our class, Bernadette Tolbert. She’s an orphan, never got to meet her parents, and today was the anniversary of their deaths. Died together, kind of poetic, extremely horrible. Anyway, this girl Charlotte Kurtzberg-”

“Wait, Kurtzberg?” Marinette glances at Tikki. “Like Nathanaël Kurtzberg?”

“Yeah, except completely different. As in, father and daughter that don’t act a thing alike. Charlotte’s… she likes things her way. And with her dad being a super rich artist and all, she gets things her way more often than not.”

Marinette frowns, thinking back to the Evillustrator. “Alright, go on.”

“Okay, well, let’s just say that Charlotte can accountable for a good majority of the akumas created. Not because she’s Hawkmoth, but because she’s a b-”

“Don’t swear in front of my mom, Marco,” Hugo murmurs, rummaging through Marinette’s design book. She wants to tear it away from him, but she also doubts what good it will do, seeing as evidence of her designs litter her room for all visitors to see.

“You’ve been saying that for years, and yet I haven’t changed. Shouldn’t you give up hope by now?”

Hugo scowls. “Just go on.”

“Right! So Charlotte kept taunting Bernadette, until the girl cracked and screamed, and there was a fight, blah, blah, blah, and she runs out of the room.” Marco blinks. “Bernadette, not Charlotte. For the running out of the room thing.”

“I got that.”

“Right,” Marco repeats. “Anyway, we wanted to run after her, but class was starting and neither me nor Hugo could get another tardy - because, y’know, the whole superhero thing isn’t really all that good academically.”

Marinette nods. “I can’t really get any more tardies.”

Her Tikki tugs on a pigtail. “Sorry, Marinette.”

“It’s okay, Tikki, it’s not your fault.” She looks back over at Marco.

“Well, I’m sure you know what happened next…” He trails off, prompting her with a look.

“Akuma?”

“Akuma,” Hugo agrees. “DIdn’t catch the name. Only caught the fact that she was destroying our classroom. We couldn’t do _anything_ without catching attention to ourselves-”

“Until Ladybug came in,” Marco finishes.

“Ladybug? But I thought-”

Marco shakes his head. “Different Ladybug.”

Hugo sets down her design book. “Not a miraculous holder.”

Marco cocks his head, looking at a poster of Adrien that had been sitting on her wall for years. “Sort of just a vigilante.”

Hugo drags his Plagg away from his cheese.“Mostly small stuff.”

Marco turns his attention to the website still on her computer screen. “Occasionally she helps with an akuma.”

Hugo glances at the website too, green eyes scanning over the text. “But seeing as she’s most likely our age, mostly not.”

Marco gets up and clicks on a link. “It’d be bad if she got hurt.”

“Got hurt and didn’t have powers to cushion the blow,” Hugo clarifies. “So this is the Ladyblog, right?”

Marinette nods, rubbing her arms, and looking over at her Tikki. “Uh, yeah. Alya runs it.”

“We know that part,” Marco mutters. “See, I told you the Beetleblog was better.”

Hugo sighs. “Marco. Focus.”

Marco whirls around in her chair - _when did he even sit down_ \- and tents his fingers. “Right. So, Ladybug. Vigilante. She came in, all spiraling and punching and fighting-”

“She was actually pretty good. Better than we’ve seen her,” Hugo muses, turning back to the Ladyblog.

“- and she started fighting Mother Time-”

“Bernadette’s akuma name. That we’ve given her. Because, you know. She was a little unclear on that.”

“- and then Mother Time totally backhanded her, and Ladybug threw this smokebomb which Hugo and I used to do the whole miraculous thing-”

“But, by the time the smoke had cleared, Ladybug was gone, and Mother Time was fading, so we latched onto her-”

“And ended up here,” Marco finishes. “We figured that since you were a miraculous holder yourself, you’d be better to go to than my journalist mother.”

“Well,” Marinette says. “That’s hardly good. Do you think that Lady- uh, Ladybug’s here too? And Mother Time?”

“That’s what I’m checking for,” Hugo says. “If anyone’s seen anything about either of them. So far… no.”

“Okay, well… plan… we could talk to Chat-”

“No!” Hugo blurts out.

Marinette blinks. “Um… why?”

“I mean, I replace him… I can’t… not like… look, you can just do it, can’t you? You’re smart, Tikki’s smart, I’m smart, Marco’s here-”

“Rude,” says the boy in question.

“- we don’t need to involve anyone else. Besides, people probably shouldn’t know we’re from the future.”

“Chat’s trustworthy.”

“Yeah, I know. I just… please?”

Marinette bit her lip, focusing on the ground. “Alright, fine. But we need a plan in case Maman or Papa come in. Or where you’ll stay while I’m in school.”

“We can stay in your room. We’ll hide if they start coming up.”

Hugo nods. “That works.” Both of them turn towards Marinette with almost identical puppy dog faces.

Marinette looks out the window, shifting from foot to foot again. It makes sense… plus, it would be useless to just send them completely away. This is her _son_ and Alya’s _son_ , and they’re both miraculous holders, they’re heroes, she has to treat them like heroes, right?

“Okay, but on one condition.”

“What condition?”

“We tell Alya.”

“Marinette!” Her Tikki exclaims. “That’s a horrible idea!”

“How would you even explain this?” Hugo questions.

“She already knows about me being Ladybug,” Marinette reasons. “And I promised I wouldn’t keep anything else from her.”

“As long as you don’t tell her that she marries Nino,” Hugo says, “I think it’ll be fine.”

“I’m not the problem,” Marinette tells him.

They look over at the grinning face of Marco. “Hey. Guys. Have some faith in me. I _promise_ you, I won’t tell her.”  
  


* * *

  


“He’s Nino’s spawn, isn’t he?” Alya Césaire says, clutching Marco’s jaw with one hand.

He gives her a smushed grin. “You know me so well, Maman.”

Alya gives a strangled shriek at the word, stepping backwards and ramming into Marinette. The girls fall to the ground, eliciting a swear from Alya and a snort from Marco.

“Marco,” the other kid - Hubert? Hughes? Hu-something - says, running a hand through his hair, “we need them to help us. Not call the police on us.”

Alya and Marinette scramble to stand up as Marco replies, “Of course they’ll help us. They’re our moms, aren’t-”

Alya jams her hands onto her hips, glaring her ( _oh my god, oh my god, oh my god_ ) son into submission. “We don’t _have_ to do anything, now do we?”

Hugo ( _that’s his name, why is that familiar_ ) brings his hand down, the little black kwami - Phillip, or maybe Pierre, or hell, maybe it’s Stephen ( _merde, why is she so bad with names_ ) - flying up to rest on the boy’s shoulder. “No, you don’t have to,” he says slowly. “But, uh, we’d really appreciate it if you would?”

“I don’t think we will.” She crosses her arms over her chest, ignoring Marinette’s squeak of a protest.

“Fine, then I’ll just destroy the Ladyblog,” Marco says.

“You can’t do that, you don’t have the password or anything.”

“Please, I’ve known how to hack since I was twelve. It would be easy. Especially on the primitive crap that you’ve got here.”

Alya narrows her eyes at the boy’s easy smirk. How did this little devil come from her and Nin- oh, that explains it. “Look, kid, we’ve got our own lives to figure out. Not to mention the fact that you’ve got your own little powers-” ( _holy crap, her son is Ladybug… sort of Ladybug… close enough, really_ ) “- and if your little alien thing-”

“Kwami,” Marinette reminds her.

“- and if your little _kwami_ can’t figure it out, then what the hell makes you think we can? We’re your age in case you haven’t noticed. We haven’t got the ‘Parents Encyclopedia of Useless Things’ yet.”

“Yeah, but it’s better to have a place to sleep and food to eat,” Marco points out. “Or else, we’re on the street.”

He bats his eyelashes ( _and come on, it was bad enough that Nino had ones miles-long, but now this kid too? Unbelievable_ ), and sticks out his bottom lip.

“He is right,” Marinette says slowly.

Alya turns to her best friend. “Don’t you dare back him up on this.”

“Where else could they go?” She questions, biting her lip.

“No, Mari. Stop. Don’t fall victim to him.”

“I mean, we are all they have.”

“ _Mari, no. Don’t. I swear to fucking_ -”

“Alya, if you do this, I’ll give you an exclusive interview with Ladybug.”

Alya glares at Marinette before groaning. “Fine! Fine! You win, you little bastard!”

He grins. “Not exactly. You and Nino have been married since before I was a twinkle in your eye.”

“If you don’t shut up, I’m making Nino wear condoms for the rest of his life.”

Marco opens his mouth, before shutting it. “Damn. You’re serious.”

“Hell yeah I am.” She relaxes her muscles, and turns to Marinette. “They’re staying at your house, you know that, right?”

“Yeah.” She looks over at Hugo and then back at Alya. “And we’re not telling Chat.”

“Because that’ll make Hugo feel inadequate,” pipes up the little black-

“PLAGG. YOUR NAME IS PLAGG.”


	2. well, what a meow-raculous surpurrise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, wow, was not expecting this to be as popular it is
> 
> i hope this chapter is as good as you all thought the last one was
> 
> i love you all! enjoy!
> 
> (miraculous ladybug is not my own, much as i wish it was)

Simon Baudin reaches for another wire, grunting as electricity shoots out in little spurts. “Of course you’ve got the best damn security,” he mutters. “Fucking assholes.” He twists it around a different wire, then pushes the resulting mass back into the back of the former- well, he’s not sure what it was before. Now, however, it’s a passcode cracker.

He plugs the cracker into the security mainframe, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor as he waits. He honestly hadn’t expected _Bernadette Tolbert_ to be able to do this. Then again, when Charlotte Kurtzberg was involved, anyone could be akumatized.

And the fact that _both_ Chat Noir and Red Beetle had been incapacitated, meaning that Ladybug had to step in? Fucking annoying if you ask him. Ladybug is supposed to be low level crime. Hell, that’s the only reason he agreed to make Emma weapons - as long as she wasn’t facing anyone she didn’t stand a chance against, he was fucking fine with it. The minute she turns around and punches the Tax Collector or whoever the hell the “akuma du jour” was? Fuck it, he’s out.

So why is he doing this then? Why is he breaking into the Agreste mansion? Because whether he likes it or not, Emma is one of the most important people in the world to him.

First one (read: only one) to acknowledge him as a friend. First one (read: only one) to ask him how he was and legitimately care about the answer. The rest of their class had given Simon the cold shoulder. Being the son of the mayor, as well as the infamous Chloé Bourgeois Baudin, Simon hadn’t had many friends growing up, if only because he was as stubborn as his mother.

But then Emma had dragged over her seat and offered him one of her little dolls - _it's the Ladybug one because Chat Noir is my favorite_ , she’d said - and given him the first real smile any of his classmates had had when faced with him.

Of course Simon, unsure of how to receive this, had sneered and refused to take it - _I'd never be caught dead with such a cheap toy _, he’d replied.__

Emma had been shocked at his reply, immediately pulling in on herself, hugging the Chat Noir doll to her chest. She’d looked so tiny and small, and he’d shifted uncomfortably, and then the teacher had come in, and SImon figured that that would be the end of that; he’d just ruined his only chance at friendship but that’s okay because Simon’s got his mom and his dad and who even needs a friend anyway? Not Simon, that’s for sure. He was fine with it being a one-time thing.

Except it wasn’t.

Emma had sat down next to him the next day, handing him a little puff ball of fabric with buttons sewn on for eyes. She’d made it with the help of her older brother Hugo. _It's expensive fabric_ , she’d noted with her eyebrows furrowed, _and that makes it an expensive toy, doesn’t it?_

And, well, Simon had begrudgingly taken the doll, telling her his name was Simon, and Emma had given him a wide grin, and that apparently meant they were friends because she’d refused to leave his side since.

The cracker buzzes, and Simon pulls himself up, taking the cracker out of the mainframe, and pushing on the door next to it. It opens easily, and Simon smiles as he strolls in, throwing the door closed behind him.

In front of him is a desktop computer sitting all alone in a darkened room, and Simon cracks his fingers, whistling lowly. “Well, isn’t this a pretty sight?”

He sits down and hacks into the system, immediately going to the internet and, ultimately, the Ladyblog. Back home - in, you know, the future - Simon had always alerted Emma to a crime through a little pop-up on the Beetleblog. Louis Agreste, though brilliant in his own right, is hardly as smart as Simon. Hacking into his blog was easy as pie, and it had even become fun once Louis actually tried to stop him.

But Alya Césaire’s blog isn't even half as protected. Yeah, everyone else would have difficulties with it, but Simon is a genius. It's easy to break in and put up a large, waving blob of fabric with giant button eyes. “What a homesome house you have!” was written inside of a speech bubble.

Sometimes he really hated Emma's sense of humor.

  


* * *

  


Adrien shifts in his seat, squirming under the annoyed and confused eye of his best friend. “Uh, Nino, class is starting soon, you might want to-”

“What are you hiding from me?”

Adrien clutches the seat of his chair with white knuckles. “Nothing, of course! You’re my best friend-”

“Dude,” Nino interrupts. “Dude, come on now.”

“I can’t talk about it here,” Adrien mutters.

Nino ignores the brush off, questioning, “Did Chat Noir fuck up?”

Adrien scowls at his friend as Plagg’s imitation of his charge’s voice floats up from his place in Adrien’s bag:

“Nah, but his kid did.”

Nino blinks.

Adrien’s face flushes with red.

“His what?” Nino questions.

Adrien burns an even brighter red.

“Monsieur Lahiffe, if you would be so kind as to sit down, we might be able to start class,” Madame Legrand says. Adrien looks over his friend's shoulder, wincing at the furious expression on her face. Madame Legrand is not a woman you want to cross, especially when it comes to the hierarchy of her classroom.

“Désolé, madame,” Nino murmurs, sliding into the seat next to Adrien.

“Your _hat_ , Monsieur Lahiffe.”

Adrien snatches it off of Nino’s head, shoving it into his friend's bag before Nino could argue. His hat is precious to him, if only because Alya had gotten it for him on their one year anniversary.

It has a cat on it, something that both Plagg and Adrien used to tease Nino incessantly about. The tasteless comments had disappeared the minute their relationship had dissolved.

Mostly because Adrien is the reason the relationship ended.

The class begins with a pop quiz on World War II, something that Adrien - though thoroughly informed on the subject - finds himself struggling with. His mind isn’t on D-Day, it’s on Emma. He’s not sure where she is. Well, okay, logically, he knows she’s in the library… right? She wouldn’t leave the library, especially knowing how important it is to make sure that _no one_ figures out she’s from the future.

Then again, she’s his kid, and while Adrien would definitely stay in the library, Chat Noir would be jumping across building tops, feeling the wind in his air, the sun on his skin, and then he’d end up next to Ladybug, just like he’ll be for the rest of his life because there’s no doubt in his mind that-

“What the _hell_?” Alya shrieks, voice slicing through the scattered sounds of pens on paper. Adrien jumps in his seat, whirling around to find the girl rising to her feet, phone clutched in her hand. He shares a glance with Nino, who raises an eyebrow, before mouthing: _Probably the Ladyblog_.

“Mademoiselle Césaire!” Madame Legrand shouts.

“I’m going to _kill_ that little son of a m-”

Marinette grabs onto Alya’s arm, yanking her back down and whispering something in her ear.

Whatever Marinette told her must’ve made her realize what she was doing because in the next second, Alya is telling her, “Désolée, madame! I’m just, um, having a rough day-”

Madame Legrand slams her folder onto her desk. “Does _nobody_ respect the classroom anymore? Detention! Go to the principal's office!”

Marinette’s face is flushed, and Alya looks like she's about to faint. They've only ever seen Madame Legrand this angry like once before, and that was pretty damn terrifying. What they should do now is just quiet down and not push her any farther-

“Hey, back off!” Nino orders, grabbing his hat from Adrien’s bag and placing it squarely on his head. He stands up, crossing his arms over his chest, and Adrien would feel proud of his friend _if this had been literally any other situation_. “It was an accident. Shit happens.”

Normally, Adrien would be all for this, except Alya is kind of at fault for this one. Still, Nino’s always been there for him, so he stands up, and nods at Nino, who grins, turning back to their teacher.

Madame Legrand’s face is turning kind of purple, and Adrien feels a sudden worry shooting into his stomach because _oh no, what if she turns into an akuma, and then His Lady will be all alone because he can’t very well transform in a crowded classroom of his classmates, especially when one of them runs a blog specifically for-_

A crash sounds outside, followed by muffled screams of “akuma!”.

Madame Legrand freezes immediately, before announcing, “Kids, I need you to get underneath-”

A shape flies in, knocking Madame Legrand to the ground. Someone screams - Adrien’s like ninety-nine percent sure that it’s Kim - and everyone else is scurrying backwards as the figure lifts a hand.

They all freeze. Even Plagg freezes in the middle of yanking on Adrien’s pants.

The figure cocks her head, a serene smile crossing her lips. “Oh, goodness. I don’t suppose any of you know a Nathanaël Kurtzberg.”

Adrien keeps his eyes on the akuma, straining against whatever the hell is holding him in place. Behind him, something drops to the ground - _please let Nathanaël have found a way to hide_.

“He moved!” Marinette pipes up. “No longer here. I think he went to Italy.”

_Marinette, I hope to god you have a plan._

“You’re lying. I can read your memories.”

She can _what_?

“It doesn’t matter because Chat Noir will be here soon!” Alya calls.

“Or Ladybug!” Nino adds. “Ladybug’ll be here!”

“Or _both_!” Alix shouts. “Both is good!”

_I wouldn’t get your hopes up._

The figure stalks forward, grabbing onto Adrien’s jaw, and yanking him forward. “You. Agreste.” _Merde, merde, merde, merde, merde._ “Where is Nathanaël Kurtzberg?”

Adrien grunts, pulling against the akuma’s hold. “Couldn’t tell you. He moved.”

“You’re _lying_!” The akuma shouts, and something _explodes_ , and Adrien gasps because suddenly his head is pounding and screaming and _no, no, no, no_ make it stop, why won’t it stop, where’s Plagg, where’s _Ladybug_ , what is he listening to, it- it- it- it sounds like his _mom_ -

And then it’s _gone_ , and Adrien is gasping, and looking up back up at the akuma-

“Ladybug,” the akuma murmurs, her voice barely rising above the roar in Adrien's ears. A glowing butterfly outlines her eyes, making her skin look even more sickly pale than it had. The akuma’s lips curve into a gentle smile that leaves Adrien’s stomach churning. He needs to find a place to transform and help His Lady-

Wait.

No.

_No._

The Ladybug fighting against the akuma isn’t His Lady. She’s not dressed in the body suit that His Lady looks so good in; she’s wearing black leggings and a dark maroon sweatshirt. The hood is thrown over her head, concealing everything except for a few wisps of pale hair. There’s something wrapped around her mouth and nose, leaving only flashes of blue eyes.

It’s _Emma_. It’s his _kid_. And all he can think of is what the _hell_ does she think she’s doing? This is dangerous! _She could get hurt!_

He needs to find a way to help her, to get out of the room and then get his claws out.

The akuma lets out a screech of frustration, creating a- _merde_ , a replica of Chat’s own staff. Emma grabs something from her belt, a smaller staff that does nothing to block the hit. Emma goes flying, and even in the middle of chaos, in the middle of screeches and questions and screams, Adrien can still hear the whimper that escaped her.

Fuck it. Fuck. It. That is his goddamn _kid_. Who the hell cares about keeping his identity a secret? What use are super powers if he can’t use them to save his own daughter?

He’s standing up again, hand squeezing into a fist, ready to call out for Plagg, but suddenly, the akuma is crying, and then there’s this flash of light and she’s gone, and Emma is pulling herself to her feet, leaning much too heavily on the wall for Adrien’s comfort.

“Well,” she says, her soft voice cutting through all of the conversations. “Seems like she’s gone for now. So I’d better beat it.”

“Wait, who are you?” Alya asks.

Emma shakes her head. “I'm really sorry about this,” she says, tossing something into the air.

The room explodes in smoke, a blurry mix of reds and greens, and Adrien’s advanced eyesight - for once, he’s thanking Plagg - sees her slip out the door. He knocks over his bag, and Plagg zips up into Adrien’s coat pocket. The entire class is coughing and struggling to push through the smoke to get out. Adrien grabs a hold of Nino’s arm and leads the both of them out the room, not stopping until they’re around a corner, far enough away from the crowds escaping the building.

“What the _hell_ -”

“I need to get to my house,” Adrien tells him. That’s where she’d go, right? She couldn’t go back to the library; they were probably evacuating the entire school. Except, would she actually know that? He should probably go check there anyway, just in case. “No, wait, library first. And then to my house.”

“Can I ask why?”

“Meow.”

Nino groans. “Why is that our code?”

“Why do you think? Now, are you coming or not?”

  


* * *

  


“This is _boring_!” Marco groans, tossing the bouncy ball at the wall. “I’m so _bored_!”

“Too bad,” Hugo says, flickering through another one of his mom’s fashion magazines. It’s odd, seeing what’s “in” and “out” compared to their future. “We can’t risk anyone seeing us.”

“But _why_?” Hugo puts down the magazine, ready to go into his entire speech again, but Marco holds up a hand. “Look, I'm a mix of my parents, and no one’s going to jump to me being their kid considering they’re apparently _broken up_ , and you look more like your mother - excusing, of course, the annoyingly feline green eyes - so who’s going to _honestly_ make the connection? Besides, why would they automatically jump to time travel instead of two random guys strolling down the street?”

“Marco, we should just stay here. Mom- uh, Marinette knows where we were now. And it’s not like we have our comms here.”

“But I’m _bored_!”

“Marco!” Tikki squeaks. “Look at the Ladyblog!”

Marco vaults himself off of the bed, sliding into the chair with grace. Hugo trips over a hat on the floor before pulling himself into a standing position beside his best friend.

“Holy shit,” Plagg notes, tapping the screen. “Well, at least we know for sure she’s here.”

“And so’s her sidekick,” Marco murmurs, waving the mouse over the little fabric blob on the screen. Underneath it is an unusually typo-ridden article about a memory-reading akuma attacking the school. Hugo and Marco share a look once they see the mention of “a fake Ladybug”, and Hugo curses at Aunt Alya’s plea to find the girl given that she’s most likely injured.

“Damn it, kid, what the hell are you doing?” Hugo mutters, dragging a hand through his hair.

“We should go try and find her,” Marco says. “Or at least find Ma and Aunt Mari. And then all four of us can track her down. She might need help.”

Hugo looks over at Marco before straightening and nodding. “Agreed. They’re probably still at the school, right? We could just head over there.”

The two of them stand up, tucking their kwami into various pockets. Hugo glances back uneasily at the screen before the two head up to his mom's balcony.

“The kid’s more trouble than she's worth,” Hugo mutters.

“She's worth a goddamn lot, Hugo,” Marco snaps, vaulting himself over to the next building.

Hugo rolls his eyes, following his partner with Chat’s nimble grace, even though it usually failed him when he was in civilian form. “I didn't mean it like that and you know it.”

Marco suddenly stops, Hugo skidding to a stop behind him in order to avoid a collision. He whirls around, staring down his partner as he said, “Look, she's doing something we can’t. We have to focus on all of the akuma, so much so that we can't even _try_ to fight any other criminals. We're fucking _dead_ by the time we get home from school, _obliterated_ if an akuma pops up at the same time-”

“Yeah, and having to worry about some kid with a hero-complex isn't helping-”

“ _We're kids with a hero complex!_ ”

The two of them glare at each other, tense and unyielding while Plagg and Tikki try to hurry them along. They don’t disagree on most subjects - Ladybug, however, isn't just any subject.

Appearing about a year and a half ago, ironically just after Hugo and Marco got their miraculous, Ladybug had quickly become their agent in the shadows. They'd only met her twice, and before that first meeting, Hugo had been all for her fighting. It meant less work for the two of them, right? Plus, if there ever was an akuma attack that overreached both of their abilities, they could count on Ladybug to help, couldn't they?

But then they’d met her.

She’d been tiny, feisty, and her first sentence to them had been: “Well, gosh, what a meow-raculous surpurrise.”

Marco had laughed, shooting back some bug joke, but Hugo had frowned because her voice sounded so light and young and _merde_ , it had reminded him of his sister. He didn’t like - still doesn’t like - the fact that she’s just a teenager. Okay, yes, him and Marco are teenagers too, but at least they have superpowers and their kwami; Ladybug only has a few gadgets and an outfit that isn't even magically enhanced to withstand any and all attacks.

“Look, let’s just get to the school- oh, whoa, we’re here. Since when is the bakery so close to the school?”

Hugo ignores the question, jumping down onto a ledge and then scurrying down. Most people’s attention is on the school anyway; police are questioning students, reporters are asking “where were Ladybug and Chat Noir" and "who is this new vigilante?”, and parents are rushing to find their children - he even spies his grandparents clutching at Marinette.

“They’ve had akuma for years,” Marco notes. “Why’s it still… so disastrous?”

“They’re children,” Hugo says, an odd feeling hitting him in the stomach. He drags a hand through his hair, looking over the crowd. “And those things… they’re monsters. Anyone would be freaked.”

“I’m not.”

Hugo looks over at his friend, hand falling to his side. “Huh?”

“I’m not- I’m not scared. Or freaked. This… this is normal now.”

Hugo shoves his hands in his pockets. Plagg pushes on his side in something that Hugo swears is more comforting than the little kwami meant it to be. “Yeah. I know the feeling.”

  


* * *

  


Emma presses herself deeper into the little alcove underneath the library’s desk. She’s fairly certain that she feels something wet sliding down multiple areas on her body, and that the only reason she’s yet to be doubled over in pain is because of the remnants of adrenaline streaking through her veins.

Okay, so maybe it hadn’t been the best plan. But Emma hadn’t even thought before she acted - her dad had been in that room! She couldn’t let him get hurt! Especially not with what happened, not with-

Someone pulls open the door to the library, and Emma squeezes herself into a tighter ball, closing her eyes and struggling to block out the sharp ache beginning in her muscles.

“Hey, Ladybug!” A voice whispers. “Dude, where you at?”

Emma nearly smiles. It sounds like Marco, even though she knows it can’t be.

“Emma!” Her dad’s voice hisses. She jumps as his face appears in front of her. “Emma, what the fuck?”

A tanned head joins her dad. “Uh. Dude. Who’s the kid?”

“I’m sixteen!” She counters. “I’m not a kid!”

“She’s grounded, that’s what she is. Come on, we’re going home.”

Uncle Nino - for it has to be Uncle Nino - raises an eyebrow as Emma crawls out from under the desk. It hurts to try and stand, but she’s not just going to ask-

Her dad kneels down, swings an arm behind her shoulders and another underneath her knees, and stands back up again, holding her close to his chest. It reminds her of when she was little, and her dad used to carry her to bed. She'd always stayed up late with her parents, listening to them tell stories about superheroes. Chat Noir had always been her favorite - not that she didn't love Ladybug too - and her dad had always gotten a big grin on his face whenever she'd told him that. She'd never understood why before, but now... now it makes sense

“'Grounded'? What kind of kinky shit is that? I thought you were in love with Ladybug.”

Emma ignores the first sentence - her dad’s already taken care of it by stuttering out a hurried explanation that _no_ , this is _not_ that kind of relationship, _no_ , I _can’t_ explain exactly what’s going on at the moment, _no_ , Nino, stop talking, _just stop talking_ , and open the door so we can go back to the house.

But that second sentence. “In love with Ladybug”? What about Marinette? What about her mother?

She looks up at her dad’s reddening face as he carries her out of the library, away from the prying eyes of the crowds pleading for their heroes. He stiffens as he hears the shouts, the questions, the “ _why weren’t they here_ ”s.

“They shouldn’t worry so much,” Emma murmurs as they all duck into an alley. Her dad sets her on the ground, and she curls up involuntarily. Uncle Nino winces, crouching down beside her as her dad calls for Plagg. “No one got hurt.”

“ _You_ got hurt,” the newly-transformed Chat hisses. She smiles, her mind pasting black over his mess of blond hair. Hugo acts a lot like their dad sometimes, even if he’s usually more like their mom. But Hugo’s done the whole “you’re-an-idiot-what-the-fuck-were-you-thinking” routine before. Hell, he’s even done it to her (though, considering she had been Ladybug at the time, it hadn't been _exactly_ to her).

“It's okay; I’ve had worse.”

Chat throws his hands up in the air. “Oh, of course you have! Why are you so- so-” He makes a noise sounding oddly like a frustrated animal, yanking on his hair.

“Just like you?” Uncle Nino finishes, glancing between the two of them. “Dude, you literally do that so often.”

Emma’s adrenaline is fading, leaving her body aching. She doesn’t want to interrupt, though, because it’s been so long since she’s seen her dad and Uncle Nino interacting like this.

“Little lady?”

She pushes herself into sitting with her back against the wall, ignoring her aching muscles. “No, no, keep talking. I just needed to move.”

That’s a lie; she just wants to make sure she doesn’t fall asleep. She doesn’t think she has a concussion, but then again, she doesn’t really know medical stuff. Simon is the one who usually did that.

“Alright, I'm getting you back to the house,” Chat says, picking her back up. “Nino-”

“I'll sneak in. And then you better explain to me what the fuck is going on.”

  


* * *

  


Nino eyes the girl on Adrien’s bed. The hoodie was taken off a few minutes prior, leaving the girl in a tank top and exposing her quickly reddening skin. Nino has seen the aftermath of way too many akuma battles on his friend, so he's well aware that the redness will turn into a horribly ugly bruise.

Adrien had detransformed before Nino had gotten to (read: broken into) his house. Nino still hasn't received an explanation, but given the fact that Adrien for whatever reason _knows_ vigilante Ladybug and that vigilante Ladybug is injured, Nino’s willing to wait a bit.

Okay, no, forget that, this is taking way too long.

“Dude, what the f-”

“Nino, can you check the Ladyblog?”

Nino groans. “Just tell me what’s going on!”

“I have to know if Ladybug-” he pauses, glancing over at the _other_ Ladybug. “Well, uh…”

Nino waves off the impending non-explanation, and walks over to the three-screened computer. The sleeping wallpaper is a picture of both Chat Noir and the real Ladybug perched atop a high building. He still remembers going up there with Alya to get the picture. She hadn’t known how _he’d_ known that Ladybug and Chat Noir. He couldn’t exactly tell her “hey, yeah, remember my best friend Adrien? Well, turns out he’s Chat Noir, isn’t that fun?” so he’d just… avoided it. And Alya had pretended she didn’t notice.

Their entire relationship had cracked in moments like those.

Nino wakes the computer up, moving the mouse lazily across Adrien’s desk.

He snorts at the little blob on the screen. “What the hell is that?” He leans back in the chair. “Oh, this must’ve been what made Alya freak.”

“What is it?”

“A little… uh… blob? It’s covering like half the blog. The article’s behind it but-”

“Simon!” Vigilante Ladybug suddenly shouts.

A distant _pop_ precedes a blue-haired boy dropping from the ceiling and landing on the bed next to her. “Took you long enough. I've been up there for like an hour.” He sits up, and gives Nino and Adrien a smirk reminiscent of a blonde the two know quite well. “Hi. Simon Baudin. It’s a pleasure.”

“Dude, what the hell?” Nino groans. “Who are they?”

“Well, uh, _she’s_ my daughter from the future, but I have no clue who _he_ is.”

Nino blinks. Okay, he really needs a drink now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, i possess absolutely no knowledge of how schools in france function or electronics, so we're just gonna suspend our disbelief for a little bit and pretend they all still share a classroom and that simon can make something new out of something old.
> 
> anywho, i'm sorry that this got kind of angsty and super dramatic; i swear it'll be more laid back next chapter (at least emma won't be fighting another akuma for a little bit)
> 
> but hey, you guys met simon and now nino's in on the whole thing. plus, emma's got a hero complex, which _~~totally doesn't sound familiar at all nah, what are you talking about~~_
> 
> so i hope you all like it enough to comment or want to comment and tell me what's wrong with it or just comment and say "hi"
> 
> thank you so much for reading, honestly, this means so much to me!
> 
> a bientot,
> 
> bookoffairytales


	3. such grace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, my friends, it is i, the author, back with the third installment of this thing really really really late. let's just assume that i will try to post on the weekends (school and all that jazz)
> 
> this whole wonderful story (that i'm watching using the u.s. timeline so _**PLEASE NO SPOILERS I BEG OF YOU TUMBLR DOES THAT ENOUGH TO ME**_ ) does not belong to me

Adrien frowns, looking between the two teenagers sitting on his bed. Simon Baudin, as he’d proclaimed himself to be, is pulling on strands of electric blue hair, scolding Emma’s attempts at heroism. Emma, for her part, is looking apologetic, and a little ashamed of herself, which is a better reaction that Adrien himself got from her.

Nino’s eye is twitching like it did when he found Adrien de-transforming the first time. Plagg is snickering from his resting place on Adrien’s shoulder. Adrien is… well, he’s… he’s unnerved. Less so than when he found out that Emma is his daughter, but still extremely unnerved.

Emma is… she’s actually a lot like him. She seems rather studious (before leaving her alone in the library, she’d insisted that Adrien show her where to find all sorts of books on Jeanne d’Arc who is apparently the subject of a research paper she’s writing), and Adrien considers himself to be as well. He kind of has to be, given the amount of money his father has spent on tutors for him. Emma’s also fairly charming, especially with people she doesn’t know that well. While she’s awkward with him and Nino - understandable, given the circumstances - she’d been lovely during their walk to the school, saying hello to everyone and earning herself a rose from Mademoiselle Thoreaux, a notoriously rude flower saleswoman that sneers at Adrien every time he walks past (and Adrien’s not even sure why; Chat is the one who destroyed her rose garden, and that was only after she’d been akumatized! She has no right to be angry at Adrien because even if Adrien and Chat are the same person, _she_ doesn’t know that). And she certainly has the best sense of humor in the world; for once, someone _actually_ appreciates his puns. He loves his Lady, he really does, but sometimes he wishes that she appreciated his puns. They really take a lot of thought.

But Emma is also, apparently, self-sacrificial, willing to take risks even if there’s a pretty large chance she’ll get hurt. Judging by the look on her face and Adrien’s own trusty gut, Emma doesn’t see anything wrong with that.

There _is_ , though, there really is because though Emma may not be porcelain doll, but she’s still not strong enough, not durable enough to face down the akumas that he and his Lady do everyday. His chest hurts at the thought of his Lady in danger, but the thought of Emma getting hurt… it makes his heart stop.

She looks so much like his mother. Emma has her smile, though he hasn’t seen her smile all that often. He supposes that it makes sense, based on the situation. But he still wishes-

“ _Adrien_!” Plagg shouts, and Adrien jumps, knocking over a lamp and wincing as it crashes to the ground.

“Such grace,” Simon remarks dryly.

Nino snorts.

Adrien picks up the lamp, grumbling to himself. He places the broken pieces on his desk, turning to glare at his kwami. “Plagg, could you give me a little warning, please?”

Plagg perches himself on Adrien’s desk, reaching for the covered camembert. “Huh, well. Just thought you’d like to know that Ladybug’s calling you.”

Oh, _come on_. “Right, okay, everyone needs to hide.”

“How much will she be able to see?” Simon questions, slipping off the bed.

Wait, right, she’d only be able to see Chat’s face and the white wall behind him. “Okay, nevermind. Just be _completely_ silent. Plagg?” The kwami groans, pulling himself away from his beloved camembert. “Claws out.”

“You said that as dramatic as possible, didn’t you?” Nino questions after the transformation is complete. Chat Noir gives his friend a grin, before settling himself against the wall and pulling out his staff.

The miniature rectangle glows for a second before Ladybug’s face appears, the standard pink wall set behind her.

“Chat,” her voice greets, giving him a small smile.

He grins back. “ _Salut_ , my Lady. What’s _bug_ ging you?”

“You look at the Ladyblog, right?”

His grin fades. She always chastises him for his jokes, except for when she’s really unnerved by something. “I’ve seen it before, yes.”

“Have you seen it recently?”

“I’m going to go ahead and assume this is about the other Ladybug.”

On his bed, Emma squirms, fiddling with her hands. Chat forces himself not to turn directly towards her.

“And the akuma, Mother Time.”

Chat frowns, replaying the events of that afternoon. “The article never mentioned a name.”

An uncharacteristically nervous look flits across Ladybug’s features. “Guess it’s just my intuition.” She laughs, glancing off screen. “Look, the akuma was searching for Nathanaël Kurtzberg-”

“So you want me on security guard duty?”

“No, no. At the moment, I’ve got a, uh, fan watching him.”

 _Okay, what does_ that _mean_? “Please explain, my Lady.”

“Remember Chloé Bourgeois?”

“Hard to forget,” Chat replies. “Wait, Buginette, I thought you hated her.”

“I don’t _hate_ her. Sometimes I disagree with the way she does things, but I don’t hate her.” Ladybug sighs. “Anyway, I placed Nathanaël with her for the time being. She wasn’t too happy, but she’s willing to take care of him. Her place is the last place _anyone_ would expect Nathanaël to be.”

“Alright, so then what do you need?”

“I know we don’t usually,” Ladybug begins, “but tonight I think we should do a patrol. We didn’t get a chance to cleanse the akuma, not to mention the fact that we have the pressing matter of the other Ladybug.”

Oh, no, no, no, _no_. What if she thinks Emma’s the enemy? Ladybug would take her down in ten seconds flat; Emma wouldn’t even get a chance to fight back, and even if Chat protected her - something that he doubts Emma would appreciate - he’s not sure he’d be able to do that much damage to Ladybug.

“You mean the girl that saved those kids,” Chat clarifies.

Ladybug purses her lips. “And got _injured_ doing so. I doubt she has a kwami, Chat, which makes what she’s doing even more dangerous. She could be anyone. We don’t know anything about her.”

Okay, yeah, he’s certainly not disagreeing with her there. But, still, he doesn’t like the way Ladybug is talking about Emma, about _his daughter_ , and for the first time, doubt begins to thread itself through his heart.

“I’ll meet you there in twenty.” His voice is unusually cold, and he can see Nino lean back, arms crossed over his chest. He supposes that he’s never really sounded that way when he’s talked to her. Sure, he’s been annoyed at her for how she treats Chloé, but that’s because she’s practically family.

Emma actually is.

Ladybug’s mouth curves into the smallest of frowns, the vocal change not having gone unnoticed. “See you there, _chaton_.”

  


* * *

  


Ladybug ends the call, and sits down on her bed, a crease forming in her mask. Chat had sounded… angry. Annoyed. Something that she didn’t usually hear. Her and Chat, they were a team. They fought together, and yes, sometimes they fought with each other, but she always knew what was wrong, knew that despite everything else, they would come to an agreement because the partnership came first. What could be more important than their partnership?

“I should go,” she says, pushing herself off of the bed. “Will you two be okay here?”

Marco makes a noise.

Future Tikki sighs, and flies up to Ladybug. “That means ‘yes’,” she clarifies. “Marco’s just in a bad mood.”

Ladybug looks to her left, waiting for her- for, uh, Hugo to respond.

Future Plagg nudges his charge.

Hugo startles. “What? Uh, yeah, we’ll be fine. Go meet with him.”

Ladybug waits a single second before reassuring herself that they were practically adults and they could take care of themselves. She isn’t sure when she started feeling worried about their safety to the point that she feels uncertain about leaving them - after all, they’ve only been here about eighteen hours. They’d arrived at five in the morning, just after she’d gotten back from a minor akuma fight. She hadn’t slept at all meaning that she was even closer to death than usual, but Alya - who had, of course, been recording the fight and who had, of course, still been awake when Ladybug had called her about thirty minutes after discovering motherhood - had brought coffee for her.

In any case, she needs to get a move on. She doesn’t want to keep Chat waiting.

She climbs up onto her balcony before vaulting herself off the top of it. It’s a short swing to their usual meeting place (the top of a tall building that indents down deep enough for them to be hidden from sight, even with Ladybug’s bright red-and-black polka dotted outfit), and she lands softly, laying down while she waits for her partner. It’s been a horribly long day, and she’s still thinking about the akuma attack and the vigilante Ladybug.

Marco and Hugo had explained a little bit about her, but Ladybug doesn’t know how to feel about it. She’s young, maybe not as young as Ladybug was when she first started, but this Ladybug… this _vigilante_ , for the sake of Ladybug’s sanity, doesn’t possess a kwami, but more importantly, she doesn’t possess even the least bit of self preservation.

Honestly, she reminds Ladybug more of Chat than of herself.

“Buginette,” Chat greets, falling into a tired heap next to her.

 _Speak of the devil_. “Chat. How are you?”

“Utterly exhausted. I’m guessing you feel the same.”

“Well, you aren’t wrong.” She pushes back on her elbows, glancing over at her partner. “Look, for whatever I said, I’m sorry.”

He sits up too, shaking his head. “You have nothing to be sorry about. It’s just... I don’t think that this vigilante Ladybug is an enemy-”

“Wait, I never said she was an enemy. I think she’s got good intentions, just a poor execution.”

He blinks, an ear twitching. “I thought- okay. Um. Right. Yeah, me too.” He frowns, looking down at her. “Sorry, my Lady. I thought we were on different pages.”

Ladybug gives a relieved smile. “Of course not. We’re a team, aren’t we?”

“Till the end of time.” Chat gives her a smile, but it’s different from his Chat-like grin. It’s softer, shines brighter, and Ladybug tries to force her heart back into beating. “Anyway. The akuma. You said her name was Mother Time?”

Ladybug nods, zeroing in on the topic at hand. “Mother Time, yes. I don’t know much about her. I talked to Alya Césaire, and she said that the akuma had the ability to freeze people.”

Chat remembers the burning, searing pain in his head, and adds, “And hurt them.”

Ladybug nods again. “And then she just left.”

“Disappeared.”

“She’s different than what we usually face,” Ladybug adds. “I don’t like it.”

Chat makes an agreeable noise. “There’s something usual about her.”

_Well, yes, actually. She’s from the future. Vigilante Ladybug’s from the future too. And so are my son and Alya’s son, and they’re the new miraculous holders of the future so clearly we no longer have Tikki and (apparently) Plagg._

“Yeah. I can’t tell what, though.”

Her heart beats too loudly in the moment of silence that follows. She’s lying to him, to Chat, to her partner, and it hurts, it really does, but she _promised_ Hugo and Marco. She promised them, and she can’t go back on her promise.

“Yeah,” Chat repeats, ear twitching. “So, then, what do we do?”

Ladybug purses her lips. Logically, they could track down the akuma, but Ladybug’s not sure if her cleansing the akuma here will mean Marco and Hugo (and vigilante Ladybug) will be able to go home. She’s never dealt with a situation like this, and future Tikki remembers nothing of an adventure like this.

“Wait and see,” she finally says. “We can’t really do much else.”

Chat frowns. “I don’t like that.”

She frowns too. She knows exactly why he doesn’t like it, and it’s not just the akuma. He’d mentioned it a few years back, how his father decides his entire life, how he has no control when he’s not Chat. _When I’m Chat, my father doesn’t have control_ , he’d told her. _When I’m Chat, I have control over my_ own _actions._

 _But you listen to me_ , she’d pointed out.

_And I chose that, my Lady. I’m still in control._

“It’ll end up okay,” she tells him. “It always does.”

Chat doesn’t reply.

  


* * *

  


Marco mumbles an apology to Hugo about an hour about Aunt Mari left and about three hours after Tikki started harassing him to.

Hugo just waves the apology away, pausing in the middle of tossing camembert at Plagg. “Not your fault. It’s a matter of differing opinions. We’re friends, yeah, but that doesn’t mean we have to agree on _everything_.”

“So we’re good then?” Marco questions, relief threading through his veins at the lack of an angry response.

“We’re fine.”

Marco doesn’t buy it. “Something’s wrong.”

“It’s fine.”

“ _Hugo_.”

Hugo shoots him a glare. “Look, it’s nothing about this, okay? I’m just worried that the akuma went back to our time.”

 _Merde_. Marco hadn’t thought about that. And with not only the two of them here, but Ladybug also, no one was left to defend the city from Hawkmoth and her akumas.

“Aunt Mari used to be Ladybug, right? If the akuma did go back… she could do something, couldn’t she?”

Hugo shakes his head. “You’ve got Tikki. And Maman is 54.”

“Please, your mom could kick both our asses blindfolded.”

“ _And_ ,” Hugo continues, ignoring Marco, “she’s got Emma and Louis. She wouldn’t do anything to put them in danger.”

“Emma could take care of Louis,” Marco points out. “She’s been taking fencing and gymnastics for years now.”

“Great. So comforting. My sixteen-year old, pacifist sister protecting my twelve-year brother who _does not possess common sense_. Don’t you remember that time he purposely got himself kidnapped in order to get a video for the Beetleblog?”

Marco frowns. “Okay, yeah. You’ve got a point there.”

“And what if it doesn’t just attack my family? What if it attacks yours?”

“My mom is pretty good with that stick thing we’ve got near our front door,” Marco says, but he turns away from his friend, bouncing his knee on the mattress.

“Hugo,” Tikki admonishes, coming to rest on Marco’s shoulder. “I’m sure the akuma won’t go for any of your families.”

“Yeah,” Plagg joins in. “Besides, Marinette’s always been good at having a plan. She and Alya will take care of everything, don’t worry.”

Hugo shakes his head. “I… I just want to know. I thought that all Bernadette-”

“Mother Time. The akuma _isn’t_ Bernadette.”

Hugo nods. “Okay, _Mother Time_. I thought that all _Mother Time_ could do would be come here not go back… although, now that sounds kind of stupid, doesn’t it?”

“Thinking that she could only come forward? Wishful thinking, maybe, but not stupid.”

“If she hurts Emma or Louis, I swear-”

“I know, Hugo, but they’ll be fine. I meant what I said. Emma will protect Louis no matter what, you know that.”

He nods again, looking around the room, eyes resting on one of the larger posters of his dad. Marco watches his friend, as Tikki nudges him to say something.

“You could warn him, you know,” Marco finally blurts out.

Hugo shakes his head, eyes still on the poster. “No, I can’t. He wouldn’t believe me anyway.” He pulls his eyes away from the poster, idly flipping through his mother’s design book. “I’m fine, Marco. Let’s just get home.”

Marco knows he’s lying, but he doesn’t know what to do. They’ve gone through this before, just after it happened, but they were kids then, only nine years old, and it was easier to distract Hugo with a toy then than it is now.

“Okay,” Marco murmurs, frowning at his friend. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so that happened and i wonder what Hugo would have to warn his dad about (oh wait, i don't have to wonder, _i know_ muahahaha no spoliers:) )
> 
> aaaaanyway, i hope this was good for all of you. there'll be more in less than the previous time, i promise. also, i wasn't sure how this chapter went, so please, please _please_ comment!
> 
> thank you so much for reading i honestly love you all!
> 
> a bientot,
> 
> bookoffairytales


	4. meow up a tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, friends, long time no see! well, here's this chapter, i hope it's up to your standards!
> 
> p.s. as you know, this is not the work of the owners of Miraculous Ladybug

Nino waits until Adrien is completely gone before swiveling his chair to face the other teenagers. “So, what do we do?”

Simon shrugs. “We wait till Papa Agreste gets back, and then we figure out what the fuck to do.”

Nino shakes his head. “No, Adrien’s going to do everything he can to keep us out of this. Especially since Baby Agreste almost got herself killed.”

Emma shakes her head, making a sound suspiciously like a hiss. “I didn’t mean to,” she mumbles, picking at the comforter on Adrien’s bed. “I just didn’t want…”

Simon nudges her with his shoulder. “Hey, no worries, Em. Just stop pulling those insane, deadly moves when you don’t have backup.”

Nino rolls his eyes, having had this exact conversation with Adrien numerous times before. Emma answers with some faux promise, and Nino trails his eyes over to Adrien’s computer, where the picture of his mother takes up the entire screen. He looks back and forth between Emma and Adrien’s mother before leaning back even further in his chair. Well, that explained Adrien’s reaction. He was imagining that Emma was his mom instead of his daughter, wasn't he?

 _Fuck_ , Nino really needs a drink.

“Alright, kids,” he announces. “We need to make our own plan.”

“As much as I love to let Emma go out and fight stuff, I’d rather _not_ have her get killed.”

“You do realize that we could fight too, right? And that I wasn’t actually talking about fighting?”

Emma shakes her head furiously. “No, you two could get hurt!”

Simon sighs, placing a hand on his forehead. “Em, do you even hear yourself?”

“I’ve heard that enough from Adrien,” Nino adds, “and I refuse to hear it from his kid. Look, Adrien’s stressed enough as it is. I haven’t got any DJ jobs lined up for the next week, and _you_ obviously have nothing going on.” Simon sneers at this which Nino chooses to ignore. “Clearly, the only option is to take matters into our own hands.”

“Well, actually, there’s two options. We go with your idea, or we just sit here and eat cheese,” Simon points out, gesturing towards the opened tin of camembert on the desk. “Look, we haven’t got any need to. Ladybug can handle it, even if Chat isn’t there.”

Emma’s face darkens, and she shakes her head. “No. We shouldn’t leave this to Ladybug.”

Simon sighs. “Emma, you know it’s not her fault.”

Emma ignores him, giving her full attention to Nino. Emma possesses the same ability that Adrien does - when they’re looking at you, it’s as if you’re their entire world, as if nothing else even registers to them but you. It’s what makes Adrien such a good model, and what gives Emma a commanding essence even if she’s not… well, not intimidating at _all_.

“We’re going to solve this,” she announces, and Nino’s a bit confused because she seems more like the actual Ladybug in that moment than any of Adrien’s personas - the model, the student, the son, the reality, the superhero. “Before they have to.”

Her eyes, too, they look like Ladybug’s, but Nino’s hesitant to point that out because _hello_ , clearly she doesn’t like the superhero very much.

Adrien's going have a fit.

  


* * *

  


“Because we’re Red Beetle and Chat Noir!” Marco hisses, mindful to keep Hugo’s grand parents from hearing any noise. “Just because we’re like thirty years in the past doesn’t mean we aren’t still superheroes!”

“We have to trust that they know what they’re doing!” Hugo retorts.

“They were our chosen,” Tikki adds. “And I know Marinette; she’ll think of something.”

Plagg snorts, sitting up on a cheese danish that Hugo’s mom - younger version of his mom, really, and _merde_ , wasn’t that still just weird as _hell_ \- had gifted him. “Tikki. Our chosen are always self sacrificial idiots.”

Tikki sits down on Hugo’s head. “I think that you’re just thinking of _your_ chosen.”

Plagg grabs onto Marco’s cheek, tugging with a force that disfigured his face. “I’m sorry, are you forgetting who ended up outing himself for the _sole purpose_ of protecting my chosen?”

Marco nods. “Kitty’s got a point.”

“This _may_ be Paris, but it isn’t _our_ Paris. They’ve got a different Hawkmoth; they’ve got different heroes; they’re different people,” Hugo reasons.

“But the akuma is _our_ akuma.”

“And Ladybug and Chat Noir can handle it-”

“What if we get stuck here because of it? What if we can only go home if _I_ purify the akuma?”

Hugo goes silent, teeth gnawing at his bottom lip. He’d thought about that, sure, but neither Plagg nor Tikki had ever said anything like that would happen, so he hadn’t thought much of it. “Plagg?”

“It could happen,” the black cat kwami says slowly. “We… we aren’t sure.”

“This hasn’t happened before,” Tikki adds.

“So, if Mom… if Ladybug… purifies the akuma, then we could stuck here?”

“ _Now_ do you agree with me? _We_ have to be the ones to take down Mother Time. We can’t take any chances, dude.”

“Then we need to find Ladybug. _Our_ Ladybug.” The words leave a bitter taste in his mouth. He knows that she’s still injured - _she’s not a miraculous holder, she doesn’t have super healing or anything else, and,_ fuck _, she’s way too young for this,_ they’re _too young for this_ \- and he sure as hell doesn’t want to involve her in this. She usually doesn’t get involved with akumas _(and he’s so fucking glad about that)_ and he doesn’t want to suddenly involve her _now_.

Marco gives a wide smile. “Wanna go see Chloé and Nathanaël?”

“Why?”

Marco huffs. “ _Because_ we can’t go to Ma, Aunt Mari totally won’t let us do this, and I don’t know where any of the other classmates live besides Dad, and we are _not_ barking up that tree.”

“Of course not. We’d meow.”

Marco gives him a blank look. “I’m the one with the stupid puns.”

“Actually, Ladybug is. What, did I not do a good job?”

Marco wipes a fake tear from underneath his eye. “You… you… you were _marvelous_.” He launches himself at Hugo, wrapping around his black-haired friend. “I’m so _proud_!”

“Get off me! We need a plan, dammit.”

Marcus nods, but still refuses to let his friend go. “Chloé and Nathanaël. You go as Chat-”

“I have black hair; he’s blond,” Hugo reminds him.

“If I remember correctly, Mari dressed up as Chat once,” Plagg pipes up.

“Oh, yeah! The school had a ‘dress up as your favorite superhero’ day!” Tikki replies. “I think she was about sixteen, so she should still have the wig…”

“Your mom is so weird,” Marco whispers.

“Marco, get off. You’re crushing me.”

Marco releases him almost immediately, pulling Hugo up. “Oh, _damn_ , dude, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Focus, alright, this is your plan, isn’t it? Tikki, have you got any idea where the wig might be?”

“Do neither of you care that the other Chat Noir might find out about this?”

Marco waves off Plagg’s question. “We’ll just tell them to keep quiet about it.”

“And when Ladybug visits them next?”

Marco and Hugo share a look. “Okay, _maybe_ it’s not the _best_ plan I’ve _ever_ had.”

“At least it’s not as bad as that time we stole Emma’s diary,” Hugo tells him.

“You came up with that plan.”

Hugo grimaces. “You know what, it was a group effort.”

Marco laughs quietly, shaking his head, a fond smile on his face. “Emma’s a frightening little fury.”

Hugo looks over at Plagg, who smirks. It’s something that they’ve talked about before, given that Plagg is probably his closest… _companion_ after Marco. Marco, who always got this _look_ on his face when he talked about Emma, who is always willing to help her out with homework (even though it usually turned into _her_ helping _him_ out), who always pays attention to her when no one else has the time to (and, yeah, okay, Hugo will be the first one to admit that he’s a crappy brother, but that happens when you’re a fucking superhero, alright?). Hugo’s like 98.76% sure that Marco’s in love with Emma and either a) hasn’t realized it yet (and let’s face it, Marco isn’t the most observant, despite being the son of one of the most famous journalists Paris has to offer) or b) _has_ realized, but is too afraid of Hugo’s reaction to do anything about it. Hugo’s willing to bet that it’s "a" because of all the people in the world, Marco’s the least likely to hurt Emma. Besides, he knows damn well that Emma can take care of herself and that, even if she’s a pacifist, she won’t hesitate to take him down if he ever does anything.

But then Hugo thinks about their jobs, and the possibility of Emma getting hurt because Marco’s Red Beetle, and then he’s not so sure. Except, it’s the same risk as it is now, isn’t it? Hugo is Chat Noir, Emma’s his little sister. She’s already a target, isn’t she?

“I found the wig!” Tikki cheers, and Hugo pushes the thought of his best friend and sister dating _(which, okay, is actually super cute, not gonna lie)_ from his head in order to take the wig from the red kwami.

“Alright, then.” He stands up, places the wig on top of his head, flexes his hands, stretches a bit, and then lays out his right hand. “Plagg, claws out!”

The transformation takes only a few seconds, leaving Hugo in the black leather-like costume of his alter ego. It feels weird because he knows for sure that he’s wearing the wig, and it lies… unusually underneath his ears.

He realizes after a few seconds of twitching his ears that neither Marco nor Tikki has said anything. “What? Does it look fake or something?”

“No, you look exactly like him,” Tikki says.

“You look like your dad,” Marco tells him, and god, he isn’t going to admit this to anyone, especially his sister, but he rushes over to the mirror to check it out. And Marco’s right. The boy - the _superhero_ \- in the mirror looks almost exactly like Adrien Agreste: green eyes and unruly blond hair, and Chat falls back on his heels, arms crossed over his chest, pushing down a rising sense of _something_ that is _not_ panic, can _not_ be panic... can it? No, no, he’s not panicking. He’s fine. He’s totally fine. He’s _better_ than fine.

“Hugo?”

“My dad was Chat Noir,” Chat blurts out, picking up a strand of blond wig hair. “ _Fils de pute_ , my dad used to be… me.”

Marco whirls around to face Tikki, who’d fallen onto the bed. “Why the hell didn’t you mention this? You told us about Aunt Mari, but not-”

Chat can’t look away from the mirror, but his mind is years away from this moment. He keeps hearing those stories that his dad used to tell and Uncle Nino recounting tales of his father in school and then Plagg talking to him about the old Chat and _merde_ , Adrien Agreste was a superhero in every goddamn sense of the word.

Chat drops the strand of hair, and pulls himself away from the mirror. “You should’ve told us.”

Tikki says nothing. _Did he honestly expect her to say something?_

Chat shakes his head, cracking his knuckles. It doesn’t matter now, not really. His dad is gone, and as soon as he gets home… he’ll be able to get really fucking drunk.

“Marco, you coming?”

Marco doesn’t move for a second, and Chat’s about to repeat the question before his best friend draws himself up.

“Spots on, Tikki. Let’s finish this before Aunt Mari gets back.”

  


* * *

  


Simon adjusts his glasses, pen poised above his notepad. “And, the akuma, it was only after you?”

Nathanaël nods, clutching his sketchbook. “U-um, yes. I think. I mean, it- she- _the akuma_ only asked after me.”

Chloé huffs, slamming her file down on the table. “Look, Monsieur Reporter, can you hurry this up? I want to go to sleep sometime _today_.”

Simon ignores his mother, focusing on the redhead in front of him. It’s weird because Nathanaël is nothing like his daughter - he isn’t demanding or controlling or mean just for the goddamn sake of bringing someone down - and if the apple doesn’t fall from the tree _(and let’s face it, Simon’s a spoiled brat like his mom and Emma’s a self sacrificial sweetheart like her dad)_ then what the _fuck_ is her mother like?

“Oh, but she… she did seem really angry at Adrien. Adrien Agreste, that is.”

“That was only after you hid like a baby,” Chloé mutters, picking the file back up.

“She might’ve hurt me or killed me or something!”

“You don’t _know_ that.”

“You did the right thing,” Simon tells him. “And Mademoiselle Bourgeois, I can understand being protective of your friend, but telling another person they should’ve put themselves in danger isn’t productive, do you understand?”

His mother flushes red, staring at the wall. Simon nearly laughs because she literally does this every time his dad calls her out on the shit she does. It’s usually followed up by Simon staying the night on the couch in Emma’s room and pretending he doesn’t know what his parents are doing.

 _Okay_ , he needs a different train of thought.

“Have you seen any traces of the akuma since then?”

“Of course not! She couldn't even get in anyway. My security is the best in the city! I’m the mayor’s daughter, you know.”

“ _Oui, oui, bien sûr_ , Mademoiselle Chloé! You won’t let us forget!”

“Chat Noir?”

 _Wait, what?_ That doesn’t sound like Adrien, it sounds like-

Simon whirls around, notepad falling to the ground with a clatter that goes unnoticed as both Chloé and Nathanaël jump to attention.

Simon is silent and frozen as the Chat _(that isn’t Adrien, abort mission, abort mission, abort mission)_ turns from the two teens to Simon, and he falters and freezes and _merde, merde, merde_ , he needs to take control so he plasters on a blinding smile and holds out his hand.

“Chat Noir, right? One of the superhero duo that’s saving Paris all the time?”

Chat’s grin is forced and- and- and just _different_ from the one that he usually has, and it kind of hurts Simon but that’s okay, he’s fine, who cares about him, he’s got a different situation to deal with right now. “Yes... and you are?” He clasps Simon’s hand, shaking it hesitantly.

Well, that won’t do. Simon vigorously shakes their hands before Chat yanks his hand back. “Simon Baudin,” he says cheerfully. “Junior reporter. I’m trying to piece together the akuma attack and the vigilante lady.”

“Well. I was hoping I could do the same.”

“I can share with you my info on the akuma, but I haven’t asked about the vigilante yet.”

Chat waits a second before nodding. “Alright, kiddies, dish about the vigilante.”

“Uh, well, not much to tell. She got a really bad hit, though. Was kind of good about fighting till then.”

“But that colored smoke! It _ruined_ my new dress!”

Simon knows that tone of voice. Mom’s going to go off on a tangent and he does _not_ want to be caught in that mess. “Well, super cat, I think I’ve got enough for my article. I'll tell you everything I know if you’ll give me a ride home.”

And, yup, _there it is_ , the beginnings of a blush because he remembers the last time Simon said that.

“Sure, sure,” Chat says. “I don’t suppose you’re okay with jumping off buildings.”

“Wait, so... so you’re just... leaving?”

“Don’t worry, Ladybug wouldn’t have put you here if she didn’t think you were safe. And, as Chloé said, this is one of the best security systems in the city.”

Neither of the two look positively okay with this, but Simon has to talk to Chat- and, if he’s guessing correctly, Red Beetle too.

They jump off the balcony soon after that, slipping away into the deep shadows of the night after telling the teens _not_ to recount their visit to Ladybug.

Chat drops Simon on a roof about a block away, Red Beetle dropping next to his partner mere seconds after.

“So you’re here too,” Red Beetle says, and it’s kind of hilarious because Marco would never ever have such a serious tone, and yet here they are, sounding like they're at a board meeting.

“Yeah, I am. Look, guys, not that I don’t mind the whole ‘attractive skin tight suits’ and all, but it’s sort of hard to take you seriously right now.” Chat and Beetle shake their heads, and _oh_ , that’s why. “Hugo Agreste, Marco Lahiffe, please, please, _please_ , will you _please_ detrans-”

Chat’s hand knocks against Simon’s teeth. “Will you be _quiet_?”

“Great question,” Simon’s muffled voice says, “and the answer’s probably ‘no’.”

He looks over at Beetle only to find a yawning Marco in his place. A little red thing - kind of like Adrien’s Plagg - is resting on his shoulder, munching on a- on a _cookie_?

“Marco!”

"Oh, come on, Hugo! He already knows!”

“Claws in, Plagg,” Chat grumbles, and a green flash fills the air before leaving Hugo in jeans and a button-down shirt, arms crossed over his chest.

“ _Salut_ , Hugo.”

“How did you get here?”

“The akuma. Went after it once I’d realized it’d taken you two and Ladybug here.”

“Do you know who Ladybug is?”

“Yeah, _but_ it’s not my place to tell you.”

“If you know who we are,” Marco pipes up, “then I’m assuming she does too.”

Simon nods. “But she didn’t tell me. Wouldn’t, actually. I figured it out on my own, just like she did.”

Hugo shifts his weight from side to side. He still hasn’t removed the wig - at least, Simon hopes it's a wig. It's not like he looks _bad_ , but he just doesn't look like _Hugo_. “How old is she?”

“Sixteen.”

He frowns, but says nothing. Simon didn’t expect him to, considering they started doing the whole superhero gig when they were her age.

“We need to meet up and fix this,” Marco announces. “Preferably without the 'rents finding out.”

“So you’re with Alya, then?”

“My mom, actually. But Alya knows we’re here.”

Simon nods, flipping through his notepad. “Okay, great. Give me a time and a place and we’ll meet.”

“Ladybug-”

“Will be there. Whether or not you find out who she is, is up to her.”

“Fine, okay, we can meet…” Hugo trails off, looking towards Marco.

“What, you think I have an idea?”

“How about we meet in the park?” Simon offers. “If anything, it’ll push Ladybug to tell you who she is. I’m kind of getting fed up with her keeping her identity a secret while knowing yours. It’s not exactly fair.”

“I mean… do you know how she figured it out?”

 _Well maybe she's just not an unobservant idiot._ “You’ll have to ask her. So, we’re meeting tomorrow at the park, 11 o’clock.”

Marco nods.

Hugo doesn’t move.

Marco sighs, rolling his eyes at his friend. “We’ll be there. Tell Ladybug that if she doesn’t want us to know, she can wear sunglasses and a hat or something.”

“Will do.”

Hugo and Marco both transform again and jump off the roof, and Simon sighs, placing his hands on his hips before he suddenly freezes.

“God _dammit_. How the _fuck_ do I get off this roof now?”

  


* * *

  


The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and finally, he’s here, walking down streets thirty years in the past, and he’s _fine_ , Louis Agreste is _fine_. Louis Agreste has faced down akuma after akuma, bully after bully, test after test, and survived them unscathed _(and yes, okay, some of that was due to Red Beetle and Chat Noir fighting the akumas and saving him, and Emma ratting out any bully that comes his way, and Hugo helping him study, and Marco teaching him how to fight when neither of his siblings would, but that is totally irrelevant)_. Louis Agreste can handle this, can handle being held onto by his mother, can handle being paraded around past streets of Paris as Aunt Alya mutters swears about akumas and superheroes and Marco and Hugo and Emma. Louis Agreste is _completely capable_ of being so worried about his siblings that he’s not sure he’ll ever be able to eat again, of being mere streets away from his dad and not being able to do anything, of knowing that his _mom_ is mere streets away from his dad and that it’s _killing_ her not to be able to do anything.

“Of course our kids would be here,” Aunt Alya mutters, digging through her purse for something. She finally gives up, glaring at every person that they pass by.

“Alya, don’t worry. They’re smart kids; they can handle themselves.”

“You know damn well that that’s not what I’m worried about.”

“What are you worried about?” Louis asks.

“Don’t worry about it, _chaton_ ,” his mother murmurs.

“But, Maman-”

“Louis, please. We’re just going to find a hotel room-”

“With what money? I don’t think your credit cards are going to work here.”

“Don’t worry, alright? Alya and I always have a plan.”

Aunt Alya gives him a big grin. “Yeah, so don’t worry, ‘kay?”

“I’m not that little, you know? You can tell me these things; I can handle it.”

His mother shakes her head, squeezing his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. Alya and I will take care of things. You don’t have to do anything.”

“But-”

“Louis. We’ll take care of everything.”

His mother starts talking over his head to his aunt, and Louis begins to simmer inside because _why_ are they still treating him like a kid? He’s twelve years old; he’s not a little kid anymore! He can do more, _be more_ than they give him credit for! He’s the one who found the akuma, and if his mom and aunt hadn’t- hadn’t- hadn’t _fucking followed him_ , he’d be the only one here! He could find his siblings and the superheroes and save the day and then- then _maybe_ they’d stop treating him like a little kid!

“Wait here, okay?”

Louis does, he waits on the street because his mom told him to, because _mother knows best_ , because clearly he can’t handle himself and he can’t be on his own and he’s _useless_ , he’s so _useless_.

_”I can help you.”_

Louis stills, cold brick biting into his skin and bringing him back to reality. He couldn’t be hearing voices, could he?

His mom comes back out, freezes, horror filling her features. Aunt Alya comes out too, eyes flashing between him and his mom. They’re telling him to stop, not to listen, but _why_? _Why_ don’t they want this man to help him?

_“I can help you prove themselves to them. To your parents. To your siblings. To the superheroes themselves.”_

“Louis, Louis, listen to me,” his mother says, reaching for his shoulders. He lurches out of reach. “Louis, _stop it_ , don’t _listen_ to him!”

“How?” Louis whispers, backing away from his mother. “I wanna help ‘em.”

 _“All you have to do,”_ the voice says as a warm feeling spreading throughout his body, _“is get Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous. Do you think you can do that?”_

“Yeah, I know I can.”

_“Well then, Chat Blanc, go save the city and get those miraculous.”_

“Yes, Hawkmoth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i hope that was good... in any case, the two groups made plans and are going to meet; louis, older marinette and older alya are in town, and... well... chat blanc is going to make an appearance (also the last part of the chapter takes place the next day but i'm uncertain if that got portrayed right). wonder what's going to happen there...
> 
> a bientot,  
> bookoffairytales
> 
> p.s. there's probably only going to be a few more chapters... maybe ten total?  
> p.p.s. something i probably should've mentioned before:
> 
> "merde" = "shit"  
> "fils de pute" = "son of a bitch"  
> "salut" = "hi"  
> "a bientot" = (if i remember correctly) "see you later"  
> "chaton" = "kitty"

**Author's Note:**

> (i really like not capitalizing these notes, i think that'll continue)
> 
> please, please, please, _pretty please_ bookmark or kudos or comment or whatever it is you crazy kids do nowadays
> 
> a bientot,
> 
> bookoffairytales


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